Day 2,113

This morning Becky and I took LuLu out on the boat for some time in the sun on the sandbar. The river was very chill as it seemed most people were thinking of heading out later in the day. The weather was perfect – sunny, 70’s, and a little breeze. Normally we head out a little later and I didn’t start drinking my coffee as early as usual so there was a new first for me… drinking coffee on the sandbar!

We both had brought other things to read and keep busy with, but we ended up spending the overwhelming majority of the time relaxing and sipping coffee while talking about nothing in particular. Talk about a perfect start to a Sunday!

While I’m very appreciative for the reason the boys weren’t home (more on that tomorrow I’m sure) I was also very thankful for the opportunity to get a little preview of empty nest life. The day when we have no kids living at home is approaching much more quickly than it feels like it should be, times like this are an excellent opportunity for Becky and I to see how we’re going to be able to cope with that tremendous change. Based on the way the weekend went I think we’re going to have a blast! I certainly am not wishing the time away – it is really nice to know we’re going to continue having excellent adventures even when the boys aren’t at home. For instance, after boating we grilled for well over an hour, enjoyed lunch, chilled, biked a few miles, did yoga, biked a few miles home, and have been chilling on the deck while looking back through old vacation pics and planning our future adventures. If that’s how all the weekends go in our future I’m ecstatic for then.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,112

Last night I tossed and turned after blogging in bed. The hamster that is my brain was sprinting on its wheel and refused to slow down. There’s another creative project I’ve started working on and it was completely lodged in my brain last night. In so many ways it felt like a creative splinter lodged in my mind, stuck and while not painful, was very distracting. After an hour and change I finally fell asleep… but not before working out a couple of additional ideas.

This morning when I awoke I went to my dresser, grabbed the notebook I’ve been saving specifically for this project, and started writing my ideas from last night. There isn’t a ton written down, but it is the start of the next. In many ways the fear of starting, of writing the first words in the notebook, paralyzed my brain. The struggle last night with the creative splinter had finally reached a tipping point. Progress has now been made!

After breakfast and before a very productive rest of the day Becky and I went on a serene hike in Hixon forest, only a 15-ish minute drive from our house. The almost six mile loop we did was so green, peaceful, and chill. We got in time together, both fun and work conversations, and spent time in a beautiful forest right in our backyard. A perfect start to an awesome day!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,111

Spending time learning in a thought provoking training session is one of my favorite ways to spend time. Hearing and new ideas feed my brain at a very deep level. Exactly how much time I’ve spent in training is unknown, it would have been sweet to track my time as I did.

One thing I’ve found that adds an extra layer of depth is training which overlaps with past sessions. Sometimes I catch a thought, a phrase, or a technique which was likely pulled from a similar training. In other cases I can almost start to map the family tree from which much of the training grew from.

Quite often the idea will embed itself the first time I hear it, but will seem to go dormant after a period of time until it is jarred back into consciousness. Other times hearing a similar version of the idea in a new training will both recall the old and strength my awareness of the idea.

Today was a training full of reminders, insightful reminders, which will help guide me forward.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,010

I’ve read American Gods by Neil Gaiman more than a handful of times and love it each read. The novel contains everything I look for in a book – suspense, depth, excellent characters, and an opportunity to think. Even though I know what’s going to happen I can quickly get drawn into the gravitational pull of the story.

A while back I happened upon the “Annotated” version of the book. The editor spent time with the author and explains why certain things happen and their relevance to the story. In reading this novel with more detail it’s added an even deeper dive into one of my three all time favorite books.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,109

As Cinderella (not that one, the 80’s big haired one) once sang… “Don’t know what you got (till it’s gone).” For those who want to further embed that earworm, here’s the link 😉 https://youtu.be/i28UEoLXVFQ

After the past week and change of feeling like garbage I’m finally feeling good again. No brain fog, almost no fatigue, I can smell and taste again, and I feel almost 100%… and it feels AMAZING!!!

Much of my life I take my health for granted. For the most part I’m a pretty healthy dude with no complaints. It is so easy for me to file that fact away and forget it sometimes. When I get knocked down like this it can be quite the reminder to take a moment to appreciate my health.

Getting our bike ride in after supper was wonderful, looking forward to getting back to all the normal activity. Each time I’ll be sure to take a moment to appreciate my body’s ability to do so.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,108

There are a couple of deeper ideas currently formulating in my noggin, but something pretty surreal happened as I was saying goodnight to the boys. The bigger ideas will now have time to percolate another day or two.

Dominic laughed out loud when he turned his computer on and told Gavin and I we had to see something. He pointed at the screen and we saw this…

Yup, that’s the mountain we stayed right next to in our last few days in Iceland! The house we rented was just beyond the hill on the left and we could see Kirkjufell from our living room. How crazy it that???

Thanks!!!

Day 2,107

Hmm… My mind is going in a handful of different directions today, let’s see if I can work through this into one common theme. If nothing else, it’s been a while since I’ve had a totally scattered blog! 😉 In no particular order…

I’m slowly getting down to where I want to get for pictures from our Iceland trip. I’ve got an idea I’d like to pull off and I made some pretty big strides toward it today. I wouldn’t say I’m in the home stretch, more like I’m rounding first base and closing in on second.

Earlier in the day I spent some quiet time working on a handful of tasks to be prepped for my book launch (coming up before too long, takes way longer than I expected). None of the tasks were particularly “fun” but they were all necessary. Making progress towards a dream felt great. Funny how rewarding the grind can be at times!

Family games are always fun. They’re even more fun when the boys are asking to play. Good quality time around the kitchen table is music for my soul. Laughing and enjoying each others company is something I could blog about every single day.

Cooking is way more fun when it is 100% voluntary and there are no time constraints. Spending time prepping and grilling was very much enjoyable today. Playing an ’80s station on Pandora also helped provide the right mood.

After walking LuLu as a family I’m not sure what got into me, but I spent a little bit of time weeding. Again, not something I usually consider fun, but it felt productive and rewarding.

And there’s my theme of gratitude today!!!

I am grateful for how easy it is to appreciate the mundane work and tasks when there are no time constraints and the actions are fully voluntary. Throw in some chill music and I can find ways to be smiling all the time, even when it is boring work.

Scratch that, I’m more thankful for the insight I just had. Whenever work or tasks are “involuntary” they are still 100% voluntary. I always have a choice and I can choose to not do them. Yes, there would be repercussions, but I have a choice. Here’s my insight – how do I help myself remember more often that all my tasks and work are truly voluntary in nature and not involuntary? How much more joyful of a life would I live if I remembered that constantly? Hmm…

Thanks for sticking with me while I worked through that one!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,106

When I woke up this morning it felt a lot like Saturday all over again. I even did many of the same normal Saturday activities. Based on timing there were no errands run and almost no work done around the house. lots of outdoors time took their place. In the afternoon there were games played as well as an nice long reading break. Movie after dinner and now time to chill before sleep.

All in all, it’s been a perfect bonus Saturday on a Sunday!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,105

I like to be busy. I prefer motion and action. When given an option I’ll almost always take the one that doesn’t involve sitting around.

Today I’ve had to lay low to rest up and get healthy. It hasn’t been ideal, but it’s certainly what my body needed. I feel like I’m about to start climbing the walls but I know it’s what I need.

I’m glad it hit when it did and I’ve got the opportunity to chill and rest.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,104

As I wrap up my day I was in a weird mood. My mind is wore out, but I wasn’t quite ready for bed. I wasn’t in the right mindset to read, but I wasn’t in for a movie.

Then it hit me as I was in the process of shutting the TV off. In a moment I was enjoying one of my favorite scenes of an old classic, a scene that always leaves me laughing out loud…

Thanks!!!